Our Innovation Economy is the envy of the world. It is the source of all net new job creation in the U.S. and has been for the last 30 years. These are the high wage, export oriented, knowledge based jobs which have the powerful job multiplier effect throughout the economy.

Which is why we call the Innovation Economy the most important part of the overall U.S. economy.  

Yet the Innovation Economy- comprised primarily of intensely focused, budget short, high growth companies -  has no real, focused voice in D.C.. It has neither the time nor budget to compete with big business and big labor for attention. As any major industry, it has unique and special needs. And it has been in decline for the past few decades.

Investing in a mobile app or mobile websites for your small business? The decision here has always been tricky, especially since each has its own pros and cons. So here are 8 differences between mobile apps and mobile websites you should consider when developing any mobile marketing strategy.

Mobile Apps and Mobile Websites

Mobile Website Casts the Net

Wider A website has a broader scope than apps, which can be used only if you download and install it first. In fact, 80 percent of all searches are made on a mobile device. However, browsing websites requires internet connection, so you can’t use them anytime.

After months of testing, Google has finally added color to Google image search filters. Though a relatively small detail, there might be a bigger lesson we can learn from the color wheel that can help you ensure a positive user experience and drive the amount of time users spend on your page.

Google Image Search Filters

If you run a Google image search, you’ll see a colorful bouquet of filters at the top. Aside from enhancing the overall aesthetics of the page, there’s something to be said about the way those colors make the user feel. Maybe it’s so subtle you don’t notice any difference at all, or perhaps the filters, ranging from aqua hues into deeper purples and more, enhance the search experience on a psychological level.

Google has announced the beneficiaries of a $20 million grant (£14 million) for organisations building tech for people with disabilities.

The Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities received submissions from 1,000 different companies, and the prize pot has been split between 30 winners — tackling everything from smart glasses for blind people to mapping technology for people in wheelchairs and treatment for clubfoot.

Image: http://www.businessinsider.com

The problem most people and organizations have is that they tend to kill ideas at the wrong times, either too early or too late, and this is very detrimental to their innovation process. Jeffrey Baumgartner explains to how to establish common-sense criteria for killing an idea If you are running an innovative organization, you need to kill a lot of ideas. Indeed, you are probably doing so already. The problem most people and organizations have is that they tend to kill ideas at the wrong times – either too early or too late – and this is very detrimental to their innovation process.

In fact, most ideas are killed way, way too early. Consider the following exchange, variations of which can be heard daily in corporate corridors around the world:

Super angel Basil Peters, thinks that only about 25 percent of startup companies that could be sold end up being sold successfully. Why does his anecdotal view hold weight? His company, Strategic Exits Corp, specializes in optimum exit transactions for angel-backed companies. Many angels consider him to be the go-to guy in North America for strategies and processes to help portfolio companies achieve “early exits.”

My obvious question? Regardless of the percentage, how can we get more of our portfolio companies to a successful exit?

Entrepreneurship is a contact sport. It cannot be learned from a book or in a classroom. The skills which underlie entrepreneurship are largely learned first-hand, through trial and error.

However, you do not need to start a business to begin exercising your entrepreneurial muscles. There are a number of tasks you can perform that will allow you to train in the art of entrepreneurship while you are in school or working at a large organization.

The first year of entrepreneurship is the crucial one. It’s where your company will either grow at an incredible rate or immediately stagnate. It’s true that most entrepreneurs give up in the first year, according to a number of studies. This is not difficult to understand why because it’s notoriously difficult to thrive in one of the most competitive areas of business.

But this doesn’t have to convince you that this is a bad idea. You can start your own business and you can succeed. This guide is going to show you how you can go about surviving your first year of entrepreneurship.

The fastest-growing sector in Greater Washington is business and financial services jobs, which grew by 39 percent between 2003 and 2014. And nearly 1 in 12 jobs in the region in 2014 was in information technology.

Enlarge The fastest-growing sector in Greater Washington is business and financial services jobs,… more

That's according to a new report presented to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Wednesday that details the seven clusters with the biggest potential economic impact on the region.

“We’re not the experts.” That’s what Therese Flaherty told entrepreneurs over and over again in her 14 years as Director of the Wharton Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Therese believed in the power of entrepreneurs to transform their businesses, and she created a consulting framework based on asking thoughtful questions and challenging assumptions—with the entrepreneurs themselves making decisions, because they’re the experts in their businesses.

Image: Therese Flaherty, Director of the Wharton Small Business Development Center 

Not long ago, in Botswana, I had the privilege of participating in Indaba, a Zulu and Xhosa method of decision-making that brings all interested parties into the conversation. Instead of a small group of leaders making unilateral decisions for the group, without any input from those affected, those affected get to participate.

The issue in this case was where to spend our limited funds on a project that was underway in order to achieve maximum impact. The elders (in our case the senior officials) sat at the front of the room while the rest of us were arrayed in a semi-circle facing them. We each got two timed minutes to speak, no more. In the spirit of fun, those who spoke for less than two minutes were loudly applauded. In this manner, the negotiations moved along quickly and most of the opposing ideas were resolved in a structured, simple way.

Entrepreneurship “starts with the hope and vision of what could be.” As an entrepreneur, you are keenly aware that you bear the risk and responsibility for realizing your vision by creating a business that works. You are driven, passionate, have exceptional tolerance for risk and uncertainty. You have the mindset of a champion racehorse with a single-minded focus on the finish line — when vision becomes reality. Only CAPITAL reins you in. HOWEVER… Don’t come out of the starting gate prematurely. Be prepared!

January, senior year, Stanford. Jeff Seibert and a couple of his friends start casually building collaboration software. Nothing fancy. Nothing serious. At least not until casual conversations turned into a seed round from DFJ and an official launch complete with TechCrunch coverage mere days before graduation. That’s one way to rocket launch a career.

At the time, he had no idea his path would be so defined by companies wanting to buy what he built. That first startup went on to join Box in 2009 — followed by a second outing, Crashlytics, eventually snapped up by Twitter. Now, as its Senior Director of Product, he’s seen the company evaluate the acquisition of over 50 startups, and been involved in a number of deals — notably the purchase of Periscope.

Private equity is estimated to be less than 2% of all assets managed internationally. It is – at least in theory – an inherently contrarian asset class. But being countercyclical and contrarian is difficult. For illustration, a few days ago I read an article that predicted the ‘denominator effect’ to return. The news was dated April 1st, so I may have been falling for an April Fool’s Day prank. You sense that I have my reservations about the denominator effect – I see it as the blind application of a flawed rule that, in essence, compares apples with oranges. However, it has a strong and ultimately detrimental effect on portfolio management.

Image: http://blog.dealmarket.com 

NEW YORK, NY – U.S. venture capital firms raised $12.0 billion for 57 funds during the first quarter of 2016, a 59 percent increase by dollar commitments from the first quarter of 2015 and a 17 percent decrease in number of funds raised, according to the Fundraising Report by Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).  This marks the strongest quarter for dollars raised by U.S. venture capital firms since the second quarter of 2006 when 79 funds raised $14.3 billion. 

Health systems are investing in innovation. You’re seeing it in Dallas-Fort Worth, most notably with the Children’s Health investment initiative with startup tech companies that can change how they deliver care. Children’s has already sunk considerable capital into the urgent care on-demand service Mend and the data analysis startup known as Pieces Technology.

Modern Healthcare looked into what other large systems are doing throughout the country and came away with similar findings: hospital chains are getting into the innovation game, putting up their own money to help build young companies that modernize their services.

Some people are better at getting out of tough challenges than others. Many of them, at least in our experience, are entrepreneurs. But all of them are creative, innovative thinkers.

That doesn't mean they're easy, though. In fact, the problem-solving process is often messy and chaotic, but it's usually rescued by three key habits that this type of person tends to draw on when the stakes are highest.

Image: Flickr user David Goehring 

There are six components to an apology – and the more of them you include when you say you’re sorry, the more effective your apology will be, according to new research. But if you’re pressed for time or space, there are two elements that are the most critical to having your apology accepted.

UPMC, the huge Pittsburgh-based health care network, is expected to go live this month with an important enhancement to its telehealth program. UPMC will deploy a comprehensive cloud-based platform that will facilitate virtual care visits to those with chronic diseases.

Initially, the program from Vivify Health, Plano, Texas, will be deployed across two service lines: patients with congestive heart failure and those in the UPMC Health Plan’s advanced illness care program. The system will enable patients to transmit biometric data and other information easily through any consumer mobile device directly to care teams for analysis and rapid follow-up.

Mark your calendar for the 1st Québec City International Business Growth Forum!

Québec International and the Québec City Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Québec City Convention Center, are proud to present the First Québec City International Business Growth Forum, which will take place on July 5th to 7th, 2016 in Québec City.

Take the opportunity to meet serial entrepreneurs, SME’s. Exchange with them on their challenges, their growth opportunities, innovation, funding and risk management. 

Image: http://us2.campaign-archive1.com